Contrary to being a detached observer of the conflict in Georgia, Russian officials claim the US has incited the Georgian offensive in South Ossetia via years of military assistance and training.  Such claims indicate how this regional conflict could mushroom from a proxy war into a direct clash between Russia and the US.

The claim was made during a Friday press conference in which Chairman of Russia’s State Duma Security Committee, Vladimir Vasilyev, stated that Georgia’s decision to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia would not have been feasible without the belief that Georgia would have Western support.

Such belief has been bolstered by US aid dating back to 2002, under the auspices of the Georgia Train and Equip Program and the Sustainment and Stability Operations Program.  The former was a $64 million program replete with 200 Special Operations Forces, light weapons, vehicles, and communications supposedly aimed at countering alleged Al Qaeda influence in the Pankisi Gorge; the operation ended in September 2007.  The latter security assistance program, beginning in 2005, saw Georgia’s military capabilities augmented as it committed thousands of troops to the US-led multinational coalition in Iraq, making it the third largest contributor.

Combined with NATO’s courtship and flush with revanchism, the Caucasus country has been emboldened enough to conduct its military foray into South Ossetia.  However, media reporting emphasizing Russia’s decision to counter the Georgian offensive has overshadowed US complicity and furthermore, has obscured what is truly at stake in the region for both superpowers.

Besides the self-determination of 70,000 South Ossetians who mostly possess Russian passports and have strong ties with the Russian territory of North Ossetia, at stake is a key oil pipeline in the region.  The US and UK-financed $3B Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline runs through Georgia from the Caspian Sea to markets in the West, allowing the West to reduce its dependency on Middle Eastern oil as well as supplies from Russia, especially since Russia has shown a willingness to shut off access during diplomatic disputes in recent years.